continuing to push for a delay in the scheduled votes on the update of the Comprehensive Plan that will guide development in Portland for the next 20 years.

The Planning and Sustainability Commission has held four hearings on the draft update, and will hold the first of several work sessions where public testimony will not be allowed on Tuesday, Nov. 18.

Representatives of the Multnomah Neighborhood Association and others have repeatedly testified before the commission that the current schedule does not allow city residents to fully understand the update before it is adopted. They are especially concerned that the details about new Mixed Use Zone where most development will occur will not be finalized until after the update goes to the City Council for approval next year.

Despite the specific names, the details of the new zones are still being written by a group called the Mixed Use Zone Advisory Committee. It is not scheduled to release its concept plan until January, two months after the last public hearing on the draft update.

When he testified at the last commission hearing on the plan on Sept. 4, James Pederson, chairman of the Multnomah Neighborhood Association Land Use Committee, said, “We just want people to be able to see the whole plan before they testify on it.”

Photo Credit: Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. Artist's rendering of how Barbur Blvd,.could look if the Comp Plan is approved.